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Selasa, 27 Juli 2010

A Deeper Kind of Joblessness



In lieu of a catchy opening line, a hammer-blow of a chart. The median duration of unemployment is, today, more than double what's it been at any point in the last half-century, at 6 months and counting. It's what you might call the dwindling of the American Dream.

Reviving the ghost of the great John Maynard Keynes, economists from Paul Krugman, to Brad DeLong, to Martin Wolf, to Bruce Bartlett, are chalking up a jobless recovery to a lack of aggregate demand. I'd like to advance a suggestion: it's not just the quantity of demand that's problematic — it's also the quality of demand.

So let's talk about jobs — how they're created, and, conversely, how they vanish. Here's a company that caught my eye this week. Knights Apparel, top supplier of clothing to universities, is pioneering a factory called Alta Gracia where workers earn a living wage — 3.5x the minimum wage, to be precise. In an industry premised on rock-bottom pricing, that's an awesomely courageous move that rocks the status quo.

So will it succeed? Maybe, maybe not. Here's the bigger point. Knights is far from the first proponent of higher wages. One of its pioneers? None other than card-carrying communist...Henry Ford. Most know him for making cars, but in fact, he innovated something much bigger than a mere product: the institution of the "job" as we know it today. Not only did this radical innovator institute perhaps one of the first minimum wages, he did it while cutting working hours. Working 40 hours a week for at least a minimum wage? It's a fixture of American society today.

Surprised? Yet, Ford explicitly said that if he paid his workers above the norm, and gave them more leisure time, not only would he gain greater commitment and dedication, in a industry marked by quick turnover — but, more importantly, he'd also spark more, better demand for novel relatively expensive durable goods, like cars, amongst a still relatively poor middle class.

So one might raise their eyebrows, then, and reasonably wonder whether it's American preferences that are killing the American dream. If America has changed so much that what Henry Ford thought was eminently practical is now seen as hopelessly naive — well, then perhaps it's not just bankers, bonuses, and bailouts that are really behind the Great Crash.

Here's what I mean by that. Every time I buy something from your local big-box retailer, it's not that, as protectionists and "patriots" often claim, that I'm destroying an American job. In fact, it's worse: I just might be helping stamp out the idea that there should be jobs as we know them.
Consider: the bulk of that stuff is made, when we cut through the triumphant rhetoric of globalization, by people who are "sub(sub-sub)-contractors," enjoying few, if any, of the benefits we associate with "jobs" — security, tenure, benefits, labor standards, etc. And, of course, when those privileges are gained, production is simply moved to countries, regions, and cities where they haven't been.

Low quality demand, then, means that we buy cheap, but the price is invisibly steep: it ignites a global race to the bottom, what a complexity economist might call a dynamic equilibrium of negative consumption externalities, consumption that results not just in joblessness but a loss in the quality of jobs. The quality of a job is sparked by higher quality demand; or, valuing more than just the dollar price of a thing, but also its human and social impact. When we have low-quality demand, we have low-quality jobs. When we value McDonalds, the result is McJobs.

A living wage is a small, halting — and perhaps even thoroughly misguided — step in a great reset of those self-destructive preferences. Yet a step it nonetheless is.

Contrast it, then, with what you might call high-quality demand. Every so often, I take my own step, in a little experiment I started about a year ago: I buy specific items in my own little budget from a (preferably local) artisan — made with love, care, and respect — but which cost 20-30% more.

Now, my friends, folks, and colleagues seeing only the cost differential, think I'm going a little nuts. Here's what they don't see: that I'm deliberately attempting to see if I can also factor in a different set of benefits: the benefit I enjoy from helping support something and someone I actually care about, the benefits of having a trusted, ongoing relationship with them, instead of merely mutely, anonymously consuming mass-made "product."

Now, maybe I'm just a soft-hearted fool. But my little experiment is changing how, what, and where I buy — and what kinds of benefits I enjoy. In short, my preferences are changing radically: I do enjoy the stuff above, and often, I enjoy it more than the generic, disconnected, alienating stuff I used to "consume." I'm learning to value not just the financial cost of stuff, but, more deeply, its often-invisible, yet still very real, human and social benefits. I suspect that if we are to create tomorrow's jobs, it will require a sea change in preferences.

Note, here, a key nuance. Shifting jobs to lower-wage countries is a tremendous boon to the impoverished. But it would be an even bigger boon if it weren't a double whammy: if, sneakily, we didn't also denude jobs of quality as they were shifted overseas; if the wage differential itself was enough, instead of exploiting a lack of governance and legislation as well; if that which makes a job more than just mere work didn't get, ever so conveniently, lost in translation.

Were that not to have happened already, people around the globe might have had more to spend, and more time to invest in spending it, with less risk — and so perhaps the global economy's problem of aggregate quantity of demand might currently be less severe. As Ford presciently saw a century ago: "well-managed business pays high wages and sells at low prices. Its workmen have the leisure to enjoy life and the wherewithal with which to finance that enjoyment."

Yet, even that depends on a more fundamental cause: higher quality demand. Because to generate higher wages, more leisure, better standards, work that affords space for passion, care, and respect — to offer that to, well one another — we might just have to learn to value the human, natural, and social more, first.

Perhaps this post, like my little experiment, seems idealistic — even naïve — to some of you. And that's the real point. What Keynes and Ford understood that seems to have been lost in the race to hypercapitalism, is this: it's an interdependent world. And in such a world, tracing — and then turning — the ever-more complex, spiralling effects of feedback is what matters. Call it, if you like, by a much older name: wisdom.



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Resume Conversion

Learn how to convert your resume to a text document in ASCII format.
ASCII...huh?
Transforming your resume to a text-only document

By Teena Rose, Professional Executive Resume Writer

Chances are, if you've submitted your resume to a recruiter or a job bank, you've been asked to convert it to ASCII format. ASCII (pronounced "as-kee") is short for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. In short, the document is converted to simple text so it can be read by "electronic eyes."
PURPOSE FOR THE CONVERSION...

With today's technology, recruiters, job banks, and a rising number of employers make use of a resume scanning system to input, track, and eventually search incoming resumes. To read text accurately, a scanning system requires the pica and font to be clear and legible. Recommended fonts include Courier 10 Pitch, Courier New, and Monaco because they don't utilize long tails, slant, or dramatize the size of each letter.
GOING FROM BEAUTIFUL TO BLAND...

Converting a resume to ASCII format is a simple process, if you know what you're doing. Steps to making your resume ASCII friendly:

STEP 1: Highlight the entire document and change the font to one mentioned above, along with a 10-12-font size

STEP 2: Remove hard returns, bold features, and tabs

STEP 3: Replace bullets with asterisks or dashes

STEP 4: Capitalize headers, name, and any other items that require distinction from the remainder of text

STEP 5: Change margins: Left 1" Right 2.5"; this allows for systems accepting only 60-70 characters per line; save file with a .txt extension

You'll know when you've achieved ASCII status - the resume will be plain and generic in appearance. This version should be used when requested only and not submitted in place of a Word version.


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Resume Content

Learn about the three key elements in the content of a resume.
Is Your Resume Recruiter Friendly?

by Deborah Walker

If you are in the middle of a job search, recruiters can be either your friend - or your foe. They have the power to keep you out of the hiring process or to introduce you to corporate hiring decision makers. The quality of your resume plays a key role in determining how recruiters will treat you in the job market. It pays to make sure your resume is recruiter friendly.

There are three elements to a recruiter-friendly resume:

* Focus
* Core competencies or transferable skills
* Accomplishments

If your resume lacks any of these crucial elements, then you are probably not capturing the attention you deserve, and you are missing out on important interview opportunities.
1. Focus

Since recruiters' time is at a premium, they must know your career focus within seconds of opening your resume. If your career focus isn't clearly stated, you can't assume the reader will take the time to search through your resume for clues. Most recruiters consider "Career Objective" statements worthless if they contain no real information about the specific position you are looking for and the industry expertise you offer. The best objective statements are concise and to the point.
2. Core competencies or transferable skills

Once a recruiter understands your focus, he/she will want to know if you have the required core competencies or transferable skills to accomplish the job. A thorough research of employer job descriptions will help you identify the core competencies your resume must feature.

You'll capture and hold recruiter attention by including only those core competencies relating specifically to your focus. Be careful not to muddy up your personal marketing message by including extraneous skills. If you remember the all-important rule of relevancy, you'll go a long way toward keeping the reader's attention on your key skills.
3. Accomplishments

Once your resume has made it through the initial screening for focus and skills, the recruiter will want to know how you stack up against other candidates. Remember, with record-high resume response to job openings, recruiters need good, solid reasons to recommend you for consideration over the mountain of other candidates. Clear, concisely stated accomplishments are the best way to distinguish yourself from your competition.

Whether the recruiter works for one corporation or represents many corporate clients as a third-party recruiting consultant, he or she must be able to give valid reasons for promoting you as a viable candidate. You can make their job infinitely easier by including the information they need - and bring your resume to the top of the candidate pile. When your resume sells itself, you gain advantage points, and make the recruiter look good as well.

For optimum impact, write accomplishments that illustrate the strength of your core competencies, transferable skills and focus. An accomplishment is only valuable to your resume if it promotes the skills your target employers are looking for. Remember the rule of relevancy as you craft each of your accomplishment statements.

In today's extremely competitive job market, employers rely heavily on recruiters to screen out all but the top few applicants. With a recruiter-friendly resume you'll beat out your competition as the employer's first choice to interview.

Deborah Walker, CCMC


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Job Search Mistakes

Receive advice from a career expert on how to avoid three job search mistakes.
Three Job Search Mistakes to Avoid

by Kevin Donlin

Is your job search going nowhere?

You can blame the economy or the seasonal hiring slump. You'll have lots of company if you do.

Or ... you can look to yourself. Are you secretly sabotaging your job search?

You might be.

Let me tell you the story of "Tommy" (not his real name), who is managing to do almost everything WRONG in his job search. Learn from three of his career-killing mistakes, which can rob you of the salary and satisfaction you deserve!

Tommy first called me three weeks ago, asking if I could help him write a resume. He said he wanted a pharmaceutical sales job because his aunt and a cousin made good money at it, and he heard it was interesting work.

But he said nothing about actually WANTING to do this job. When I asked, he replied: "Everyone says I should give pharmaceutical sales a shot."
Lesson #1: Find a job you WANT to do.

Tommy is setting himself up for misery by pursuing a job based on the "helpful" advice of others.

Unless you're passionately committed to the job you seek, you won't pursue it with enough gusto to be successful in the long run.

Tommy wanted a new resume to apply for jobs he'd seen posted on the Internet. When I asked if he were also networking for a job, he answered: "Networking? How do you do that?"
Lesson #2: The best jobs are never advertised in the classified ads or online. They're filled by word of mouth -- people talking to other people.

Tell every single person you know about the job you're after. Then ask them this magic question: "Who else do you know that I should be talking to?" This can double or triple the size of your network almost overnight. Try it!

After asking for my email address and promising to send his resume to me that afternoon for review, he hung up.

Six days later, his resume arrived by email. I sent him a reply and thought I might hear back from him in a day or two.

Another week passed.

Yesterday, Tommy called again and left a rambling message on my answering machine, asking nearly the same questions he had asked in our first conversation two weeks before.
Lesson #3: Take action in your job search. Now.

Tommy wasted two weeks emailing and calling me with vague questions that we could have settled in five minutes. If this is how he's pursuing his next job ... he's in for a long, painful struggle.

You can supercharge your job search by learning what NOT to do. This will help you pursue a job you really want, uncover the hidden job market through networking, and take action -- now.


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Job Interview Questions

Receive advice from a career expert on how to master the job interview process.
Be Ready to Answer the Top 10 Job Interview Questions

by Linda Matias
GREAT INTERVIEWS GET THE JOB

It can be easy to convince ourselves that the job interview doesn't matter so much, as long as our resume is outstanding, our dress is impeccably professional, and that we are nice people. After all, nice people do win in the end, don't they? Unfortunately, this couldn't be further from the truth. Even though the resume, attire, and likeability factor all play a part in an employer's decision to hire someone, the answers that you provide to the questions during the interview will demonstrate what the employer is most interested in: your confidence, skills, and knowledge of the job.
THE TOP 10 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Your best weapon to mastering the job interview is to practice, practice, practice your answers to the most commonly asked questions by employers. The most certain way to sabotage your chances to win over a potential employer is to try and wing the interview. Your answers can appear aimless and without direction, making you look unprepared or worse, unqualified.

Don't risk the future of your career by flying by the seat of your pants. Prepare yourself by developing answers to the most commonly asked questions:
1. Tell Me a Little Something About Yourself.

This is probably one of the most dreaded questions of all time. We quiver and sweat in our seats wondering what the employer really wants to know. Hey, relax! For starters, this is a great opportunity for you to sell yourself to the employer. Talk about your key accomplishments and strengths and how these factors will benefit the employer in the desired position. Write down ahead of time what you plan to say; perfect it; then practice it every chance you get.
2. Why Do You Want to Leave Your Current Job?

This question is basically a wolf in sheep's clothing. It appears harmless enough, but it can damage your potential in a heartbeat if you're not careful. By all means, keep your answers to this question as positive as possible. Above all, do not dwell on how much you hate your current boss! The interviewer wants to hire a team player to the position, not a negative and vindictive hater.
3. Are You Still Employed and If Not, Why Not?

If you are, great, but if you aren't, you can still use your answer to this question to shine a light on your positive features. For example, if you were laid off or terminated, focus less on the actual termination and more on what you learned from the whole process. You'll look mature and wise in the employer's eyes!
4. Do You Have Any Budgeting Experience?

If you haven't, be honest; but you can answer in a way that shows that you have had some exposure to adhering to a budget - on a project, for example. If you do have budgeting experience, discuss your fiscal responsibility.
5. Have You Ever Managed Anyone?

This question is most important to those who are seeking a supervisory type of position. If you have managerial experience, elaborate on how many people you have supervised and what their positions were in the spectrum of the organizational chart. However, if you haven't had direct managerial practice, talk up how much you were a part of the decision process of a team project, or how you organized volunteers for a fundraiser.
6. What Are Your Strengths as an Employee?

To adequately answer this question, you need to be aware of the strengths you possess in the following areas: personality, experience, and skills. Once that information is known, match your strengths to the requirements of the position for which you are interviewing.
7. What Are Your Weaknesses?

Obviously, no one likes to admit that they have any weaknesses, especially in front of a potential employer. So what do you do? You can provide ONE trait about yourself that is the least important to the position. Refrain from canned responses such as you are a perfectionist or a workaholic.
8. Discuss How You Make Important Decisions.

If you are interviewing for a supervisory role, you definitely want to come across as someone who is able to ask for input from others, yet is comfortable making the final decisions. Also, consider the type of position and company. For example, is it a budgetary role at a financial institution? In that case, you probably will want to emphasize that you exercise great care and caution when making big decisions.
9. Where Do You Want to Be Five Years From Now?

Suffice it to say, do not answer this question with "Retired." Keep your answers positive and simple, with just a tinge of ambition. Think along the lines of a "motivated" versus "rat race" mentality.
10. What Have Been the Biggest Accomplishments of Your Career so Far?

Focus on accomplishments that directly relate to the open position. Discuss the challenge you were presented with, your actions, and the end result. Did you streamline processes? Devise a way to increase customer satisfaction? Were you recognized by management for your efforts? The way you answer this question will distinguish you from other applicants since your answer will require you to go beyond the basic job responsibilities.
A FINAL NOTE

As you can see, the interview is more than just showing up on time in the right clothes. It is your best and only opportunity to convince an employer that he or she should hire you. If you were selected for an interview, consider yourself lucky because you are halfway to the finish line. Make sure you are prepared with relevant and well-thought-out answers to bring in a home run interview.


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Job Interview Mistakes

Receive helpful advice from a career expert on how to avoid interview mistakes.
Four Common Job Interview Mistakes -- And How to Fix Them

by Kevin Donlin

"Many's the slip twixt cup and lip," said Shakespeare (if I remember my high school English correctly).

Translated to your job search, that phrase means: "Even the best resume in the world is worthless if you fluff the interview." Unfortunately, it happens every day. Job seekers send out excellent resumes, get called for the interview ... and blow it.

So, to help you avoid the most common interview blunders, I consulted a nationally renowned expert on the subject, Carole Martin.

The following tips are from my conversation with Carole, the Job Interview Coach for Monster.com and the most capable interview expert I know, with 15 years of human resources management experience.
Blunder #1: Poor Non-Verbal Communication

"Interviewing effectively is about demonstrating confidence. Things like standing straight, making eye contact, and connecting with a good, firm handshake are all vitally important," says Martin.

Think of it like this: we humans have only been using words for the past 10,000 years or so, right? Before that, we communicated by grunting, posturing and clubbing each other over the head.

We humans have been paying attention to non-verbal cues for many thousands of years longer than we have verbal ones. It's in our genes.

The person who interviews you is no different. That's why your body language plays such a vital role in shaping the first impression you make. It can be a great beginning to your interview. Or a quick ending.

Practice accordingly.
Blunder #2: Failure to Listen Actively

"From the moment you start talking, your interviewer is giving you information, either directly or indirectly. If you are not listening actively, you're missing out on a major opportunity," says Martin.

Make sure you take copious notes, jotting down every key phrase and idea your interviewer uses. Doing so will demonstrate your enthusiasm for the job, your attention to detail ... and it will help you recall what is said. So you won't ask a question that's already been answered, for example.

Good communication skills include listening and letting the person know you heard what they said. Observe your interviewer and match their style and pace.
Blunder #3: Talking Too Much

"Telling the interviewer more than they need to know can be a fatal mistake. Candidates who don't prepare ahead of time tend to ramble, sometimes talking themselves right out of the job," says Martin.

Remember that you're at the job interview to get information as much as you are to give it.

"Prepare for the interview by reading the job posting thoroughly. Try to focus on the skills you have that match the requirements of the position, and relate only that information," says Martin.
Blunder #4: Appearing Desperate

This can be tough to avoid in the current job market. After all, you need a job! But you must rein in your emotions.

"As a rule, if you interview with a 'Please, please, hire me,' mind-set, you will appear less confident. Maintain the three Cs during your next interview: Cool, Calm, and Confident! You know you can do the job. Make sure the interviewer knows you can, too," says Martin.


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Informational Interviews

Learn from professional resume writers about the purpose and value of informational interviews.
Informational Interviews

ResumeEdge.com

by ResumeEdge.com - The Net's Premier Resume Writing and Editing Service
What's an informational interview?

In general, an informational interview is a meeting or conversation between two people: someone who wants to learn more about a particular career and someone who works in that career field. For example, if you are a recent college graduate interested in becoming a dentist, you would pursue informational interviews with experienced dentists. Or, if you wanted to go into investment banking, you might arrange meetings with executives at Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley. Keep in mind that an informational interview is NOT a job interview.
Why do I want to conduct informational interviews?

Informational interviewing is an excellent way to learn more about a career you are considering. Let's say, for example, that after extensive research you're pretty sure you want to be a management consultant. Informational interviews with seasoned consultants - employees at firms as well as self-employed consultants - will help you solidify your goals.

If all goes well, your informational interviews should leave you much more knowledgeable about a particular career or field:

* You should have a sense of what - should you go down the career paths of your interviewees - you would do on a daily basis.

* You should be able to pinpoint prospective employers. Through your interview you'll develop an understanding what it's like to work for specific companies, firms, or individuals, and you'll be able to make informed decisions about what employer would be a good match for you.

* You will expand your list of contacts by collecting names from interviewees.

* Just by listening to your interviewees speak, you'll begin to develop a fluency in the vocabulary and verbal etiquette of your prospective field.

* You will cull information from your interviewees that, during your own job interviews, will help you show prospective employers that you've done your homework.

* You'll practice handling yourself well in a professional context and discussing your own objectives.

Whom should I interview?

As you might guess, you should interview people whose perspectives will help you make decisions about what you want to do with your life. There are two ways to go about finding interviewees:

The Connections Approach: Use your network of contacts to find interviewees. Your network - which includes friends, family, co-workers, college alumni, professors, and anyone else you know - might include potential interviewees. But what is most likely is that the people in your network either know a potential interviewee or know someone who knows a potential interviewee. And, of course, you can always ask for names from an interviewee.

The Cold Call Approach: This tactic skips the middleman entirely. You simply choose a relevant company and contact the person who's in the position that interests you. You can usually find names pretty easily on company websites and in company literature. However, if that doesn't work, call the main switchboard of the organization and ask, for example, for the name and phone number or email address of the head of advertising.
How should I set up a meeting?

The three main ways of making contact are telephone, email, and snail mail. If you call your potential interviewee, it might help to write down what you plan to say ahead of time. If you send something written, be sure to proofread your missive. It is especially important that you do not say or do anything that makes it sound as though you're trying to get the person to hire you. While that would be nice, it's not the point of the informational interview.

Telephone calls, emails, and letters basically follow the same structure:

1. Introduce yourself

2. Explain that you're interested in the field in question, but that you would like to learn more about it through someone like your potential interviewee, who has a lot of experience and wisdom.

3. Give a specific reason you're interested in talking to the potential interviewee - you'll show you're serious and focused when you, for example, tell the head of a public relations firm that you know her organization does a lot of work for environmental groups, and you're specifically interested in that aspect of PR.

4. Ask if the person has time for a 30-minute meeting during which you could learn more about the interviewees' work and thoughts about their career.

This whole process of contacting interviewees might make you a little nervous - if you're new to the working world and low on the totem pole, calling up a business executive can be a little frightening. You may be especially hesitant because you feel like you have nothing to offer in return for that executive's time. Relax. Most successful members of the working world have an intimate understanding of the networking system. They know that when they were inexperienced, seasoned professionals helped them out. And now that they're the high-level executives, they'll talk to you at a business conference or grant you a 30-minute meeting - with the understanding that when you're a big shot, you'll take a few minutes out of a busy day to advise a newcomer about your line of work. And, if that answer doesn't satisfy you, remember that most people love talking about themselves and relish the experience of feeling like an important expert in their field.
How do I prepare for an informational interview?

It's impossible to overvalue the importance of preparing for your informational interview. The more research you've done about the interviewee's background, accomplishments, line of work, company, and current projects, the better the conversation will be. And, if you impress the interviewee with your preparation, he or she will be much more inclined to help you and take you seriously.

Spend some time looking at the interviewee's company's Website. Read articles about current issues in the interviewee's line of work, about the company itself, and about the interviewee. Then, make a list of questions. It maybe helpful to put your questions in order of priority so that if you run out of time, you will have addressed the most important issues. Your questions might address lifestyle, education, daily tasks, the future of the interviewee's industry, office culture, and what the interviewee might do differently if he or she could do something over again. Just remember it's inappropriate to ask personal questions - you should be having a professional exchange.
How do I conduct the informational interview?

You've made a contact with someone and they've agreed to meet with you in person. Though you shouldn't grovel at the sight of your networking contact, be considerate and appreciative of his or her time. Your face-to-face meeting should last no longer than you promised it would (20 or 30 minutes), and your conversation should follow a specific sequence. Begin by introducing yourself and stating the reason for the meeting. This should lead directly into an explanation of how your new contact might be able to help you out. Next, briefly explain your background so that you contact can put your questions and requests in an appropriate context. The next step is to ask your specific, prepared questions. However, your prepared inquiries shouldn't keep you from asking relevant questions that you think of during the meeting. Part of having a good exchange is reacting to and listening to your contact, and this means, in some cases, that your conversation will go down a different path than the one you originally intended. Then, at the end of the meeting, ask for two or three names of others who might be helpful to you. Be sure to ask your contact if you can use his or her name when you contact the referrals. End the meeting with the door open for future contact.
How do I follow up after the informational interview?

Always send a thank you note to the interviewee. Mention specific aspects of the conversation that you found helpful, and acknowledge the interviewee's generosity in speaking with you. Make a point to keep in touch with the interviewee after your conversation with him or her. For example, if you get a job, let him or her know of your progress.



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Graduate Job Search

Get advice from professional resume writers on how to find your first job after graduation.
Finding a Job

ResumeEdge.com

by ResumeEdge.com - The Net's Premier Resume Writing and Editing Service

You know exactly what kind of career you want. Your resume is perfect. You've forced your friends to spend hours asking you practice interview questions. Everything is in order - except you don't know how to go about finding the job openings.

The first step is to shift your networking skills into high gear. Start asking friends and family members to ask their co-workers, friends, hairdressers, optometrists, accountants, and other acquaintances if they've either heard of any available, relevant job openings, or if they know of someone to whom you ought to talk.

Another good way to make connections is to contact your college alumni office or career services center to see if either has a list of alumni who have volunteered to serve as mentors and contacts to young jobseekers.

Also, if you've held internships in the past, get in touch with your employers and co-workers from those experiences and ask if they can point you in the right direction.

While there's truth to the adage that the best jobs are never advertised, that doesn't mean you can't find a good job outside the networking realm:

* Check out Internet job listings.

* Go to trade websites for the career field in which you're interested. Often, occupations have professional associations with websites that include job listings. If you don't know the name of the association or trade organization that unifies your potential colleagues, do a search or ask someone in the field. Those websites are also an excellent way to cull contact names.

* Go to job fairs. You can usually find advertisements for job fairs in your local newspaper.

* Visit the websites of companies for which you would like to work. See if they have any job listings posted within the site.

* If you're interested in working for a medium- or large-sized company, call the human resources departments of potential employers and ask if they have any job openings.

* Read the classified section of the newspaper. If you want to relocate, find out what newspapers serve the places you'd like to live and then browse those papers' classified sections on the web.

The most important thing to remember is that the job search is often like a roller coaster ride. You might find some great opportunities, only to find that positions have been filled. And, in turn, you might investigate something you don't think you're interested in, only to strike a gold mine. The important thing is to keep you head up, and keep pushing forward. As long as you're persistent and patient, you will either find a good job, or you'll find a job that will serve as a transitional job that will open doors for you.



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Follow-Up Letter Tips

Get advice from professional resume writers on how to write effective follow-up letters.
Follow-Up Letters

ResumeEdge.com

by ResumeEdge.com - The Net's Premier Resume Writing and Editing Service

A follow-up letter sent a few weeks after the initial application is essential in today's poor job market. Hiring managers are seeing more and more applicants for each position and are generally so swamped that they cannot respond to all of them. Nor will they remember most.

To ensure that your candidacy gets the attention it deserves, use a follow-up letter to again place yourself in front of the hiring manager. Not only will that person take note of your continued interest in the position, but you will certainly move ahead of those other, similarly qualified candidates who did not send a follow-up letter.

To ensure a professional look for your follow-up letter and to maintain consistency, use the same heading that was on your resume and initial cover letter.

Within the body of the follow-up letter, reiterate your most stellar qualifications as they relate to this position.



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Executive Resumes

Get advice from professional resume writers on how to write executive resumes.
Executive Resumes

ResumeEdge.com

by ResumeEdge.com - The Net's Premier Resume Writing and Editing Service

Executive resume formats generally have:

1. A more conservative appearance.
2. A separate area showcasing Career Accomplishments.
3. A finished length of two or more pages.

That said, Executive formats can be used by any job seeker, especially those who have career or academic accomplishments and seek a more comprehensive approach to employment history - if that comprehensive approach is relevant and enhances their candidacy.
Conservative Appearance

Executive Resume format generally employs the Times New Roman font, which is universal on PCs, easy to read, yet elegant in appearance. Designer fonts, which include BlackAdder II, Castellar, and Broadway, are best left for graphic designers, artists, and those in nontraditional industries. The ample use of white space and underscored section headings are aesthetically pleasing and provide visual cues about where one data area ends and another begins.
Career Accomplishments

This is the hallmark of the Executive resume and what hiring managers most want to see. In this economy, when dozens or even hundreds of applicants with essentially the same backgrounds vie for each opening, the only characteristic that will separate a candidate from all the others is what they accomplished in previous positions. In an Executive resume, these achievements are showcased near the top of the first page. What's more, these accomplishments are generally quantified in terms of percentages, dollar figures, and time periods to specifically indicate what was done.
Finished Length

Executive resumes are usually two or more pages because of the sheer breadth of a candidate's experience. However, a modern resume should be only as long as it needs to be to contain the data relevant to the current job search. It's unwise to expand a one-page resume to two pages to meet an arbitrary page length, just as it is to cram a two-page document onto one page, reducing white space and font size to such an extent that the finalized document is hard to read and not aesthetically pleasing.


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E-Mail Cover Letters

Get expert advice on creating a professional image when submitting your resume for jobs online.
Creating Resume Cover Letters for Online Submission

by Vault.com - The Most Trusted Name in Career Information

Something happens to people when they get online. Maybe it's the instant access, maybe it's the anonymity, but when people get online they sometimes get overly casual and informal. This might be fine when your talking to your friend in Omaha or the someone you just met in a chat room, but it doesn't work well when you're trying to get business done.

Just because you're communicating online does not mean you should consider yourself exempt from any of the formalities of paper-based communication. Online cover letters are notoriously awful, poorly written throwaways of fewer than three lines whose only purpose is to say "I'm applying, this is my resume, have a nice day."

When formatting the cover letter, stick to left-justified headers and four-inch wide text lines in your paragraphs. You never know when the address you're mailing to has a small e-mail-page format that will awkwardly wrap text around the screen. Also, many e-mail systems cannot handle text enhancements like bolding, bulleting or underlining, so play it safe by using CAPITAL LETTERS -- or dashes -- if you need to make an emphasis.
Proper E-mail Cover Letter Etiquette

Anil Dash, the former chief information technology officer for an online music video production studio in Manhattan, lost his job this January when the company fired nearly all its employees. Since then, Dash figures he's applied for more than a dozen jobs, contacting every one of the potential employers - befitting an out-of-work CIO - through e-mail.

But every time he prepares another e-mail, he faces a choice. Should he bother to write an e-mail cover letter, the sort of thing he'd do if he were mailing the resume, or should he merely dash off a few lines to the effect of, "Hi, I'm interested in your job, and I've attached my resume as a Word file. Thanks." "I do cover letters for jobs I really want," Dash says. "For ones I don't care about, I just spam them."
Why Cover Letters Still Matter

According to recruiting experts, Dash is doing the right thing by writing extensive e-mail cover letters. Even though cover letters came of age in the age of pen and paper (or typewriter and paper), they still have a place in the 21st century, when want ads, resumes, and interviews all fly over virtual networks. "It's going over the Internet, but it's the same product," Madeline Miller, the manager of Compu-Type Nationwide Resume Service in upstate New York, said of e-mail cover letters. "The cover is very important and it should be the same quality if you were to mail it."

Since e-mail messages generally tend to be conversational and quickly written, many people aren't used to drafting carefully written e-mail cover letters. But Miller said any applicant who creates a fully-fleshed e-mailed cover letter has an advantage over an applicant with a more slapdash cover letter.

"There is a tendency to jot off a few lines, and people might write, "I'm applying for this job, here is my resume," Miller said. "But if there is a cover letter, that could put somebody over the top." But at the same time, make sure your e-mailed cover letter isn't a chore to read. If brevity is a virtue with conventional cover letters, it's a necessity for e-mailed cover letters.
Appropriate Cover Letter Length

Reesa Staten, the research director for OfficeTeam, a staffing service firm, says e-mailed resumes shouldn't run more than two or three paragraphs.

"You want to include the same type of information, albeit in a shorter version," Staten said. "What you don't want to do is rehash your resume. There's no need to restate what you've done in the past. What you want to do is tell them where you learned about the listing, why you're right for the job, and how they can reach you."
Tips for Sending Cover Letters and Resumes

If you really want the job, follow up an e-mailed cover letter and resume with a hard copy you mail. Make sure this hard copy includes a cover letter, too, that restates who you are and why you're qualified. Somewhere in the cover letter, be sure to write, "I recently e-mailed you my resume and I'm following up with this hard copy."

Why should you do this? A hard copy gives your resume another chance for exposure and makes it easier for a potential boss to pass around or file your cover letter and resume. In cases where your e-mailed cover letter and resume have been overlooked in someone's in-box or rendered inaccessible by a computer glitch, a hard copy may be your only chance for exposure.

If you're including a resume as an attachment, first make sure the prospective employer accepts attachments. Then, in your cover letter, mention the program you used to create your attachment. ("I've enclosed a cover letter written in Microsoft Word 2000.") It's also a good idea to include a cut and paste text version of your resume in addition, in case the person reading the resume doesn't have the software to open your attachment.

With any resume file you're attaching, open it first to make sure it's updated, error free, and the version of your resume you want to send. Sending a virus is tantamount to sealing your job-doom. Save a copy of whatever you send by including your own e-mail address in the "BCC" field or by making sure a copy goes to your "Sent mail" folder. This allows you to resend the letter if a problem pops up. Lastly, don't fill in the "to" field with the recipient's e-mail address until you've finished writing and editing the cover letter and resume. This prevents you from accidentally sending off the message before it's ready.


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Effective Resumes

Gain helpful hints and tips from a career expert on how to improve the effectiveness of your resume.
Simplify Your Resume

by Kevin Donlin

About 150 years ago, Henry David Thoreau had two things to say that can help you write a better resume today. They are: "Simplify! Simplify!"

You've heard many times that you have only 15-30 seconds to impress readers of your resume. So, the simpler and easier-to-read you can make it, the better.

Here are three ways to do just that.
1. Begin with clarity.

I'm always amazed by the number of resumes that begin with no objective or summary statement. As a result, the employer is forced to start reading without knowing what the applicant can do.

Many resumes begin by listing education, for example. But even if your degree is in high demand, such as computer science, you're still leaving room for misinterpretation (Does this person want a job in network administration? Telephone support? Internal help desk?)

Instead, try opening with an objective such as this: "Position in network administration where my computer science degree and technical skills will add value."

If you want to be more flexible about the job you're after, you can say: "Position where my computer science degree, troubleshooting skills and customer service experience will add value."
2. Group information logically.

Hurried readers want to quickly scan through your resume. You can help them by breaking things down into logical groupings. Don't jumble things together, as in this example:

Windows NT 4.0 Workstation, Windows NT 4.0 Server, MS Exchange, DOS, Windows 95/98, MS Word, MS Excel, MS Access, MS Outlook.

Break longer lists into smaller bits and give them a clear heading, like this:

COMPUTER SKILLS

* Operating Systems - Windows NT 4.0 (Workstation and Server), Windows 95/98 and DOS.

* Applications - Microsoft Exchange, Word, Excel, Access and Outlook.
3. Focus on results.

To make it easier for your reader to picture you achieving results on the job for him/her, clearly show how you've done it for others. Be as specific as possible.

Avoid dry language, like this: "Responsible for maintaining accurate inventory, acquisition and delivery of supplies."

Try saying this, instead: "Vastly improved customer service while cutting costs 24% by accurately managing inventory, acquisitions and deliveries."

Simple is good. When you begin your resume with clarity, group your information logically and focus on results, you'll enjoy a simply wonderful job search.

Best of luck to you!


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