10 Ways You Should Never Describe Yourself Picture this: You meet someone new. "What do you do?" he asks. "I'm an architect," you say. "Oh, really?" he answers. "Maybe," you reply. "Oh wow," he says. And you're off. You sound awesome. Now picture this: You meet someone new. "I'm a passionate, innovative, dynamic provider of architectural services who uses a collaborative approach to create and deliver outstanding customer experiences." And he's off, never to be seen again... because you sound like a pompous ass. Do you--whether on your website, or more likely on social media accounts--describe yourself differently than you do in person? Do you use hacky clichés and overblown superlatives and breathless adjectives? Do you write things about yourself you would never have the nerve to actually say? If so, it's time for a change. Here are some words that are great when used by other people to describe you, but you should never use to describe yourself: "Motivated." "Authority." If you have to say you're an authority, you aren't. "Innovative."
Executive Assistant Resume Use your executive assistant resume to successfully market yourself to potential employers. Open the door to the job you want with a well written resume that highlights your skills and abilities to successfully perform in the executive assistant position. This executive administrative assistant resume provides the structure you need to develop your own persuasive and professional resume. Insert your career information in the sample resume, adapt the executive assistant cover letter and get ready for the job interview! Your mailing addressYour phone numbersYour email address Objective Examples: Seeking a position as an executive assistant in a challenging work environment. An executive assistant position in a company that recognizes hard work and commitment as key to successful job performance. To secure the position of executive assistant in a demanding work environment where my organizational and planning skills are fully utilized. Profile Statement Work Experience Executive Assistant Education
How To Evolve Your Career Call it vocational Darwinism: Seeing similarities between the Galapagos Islands and our recession-era ecosystem, Nacie Carson wrote The Finch Effect to help you be more like those titular birds--which adapted their beaks to environmental changes within a single generation--and less like the species that have perished around them. Fast Company spoke with the author about the evolutionary benefits of owning your career, the intersecting axes of personal branding, and why natural selection is not survival of the strongest. This interview has been condensed and edited. FAST COMPANY: The Finch Effect is all about adaptation. What is it that we need to adapt to? NACIE CARSON: What we need to adapt to as modern professionals is the rapid changes that we're seeing in the job market. The truth is that because of different factors like outsourcing and how fast communication happens, the pace at which changes in the job market happen is not going to slow down. How do you take that responsibility?
Jim Plush's Blog - This may be the best resume I have ever seen UPDATE: Here is the resulting stats from all the Hacker News Traffic What happens when you are the #1 article on Hacker News Over my nearly 20 years in software I've seen thousands of resumes and the biggest chore is weeding out who seems like a good potential match. Unfortunately you have to trim down the list of resumes to people you want to phone screen with, then people you actually want to have come in person. Most of the time you'll see bullet points such as these: Rockwell Collins 2000-2009 Technologies used: Java, C++, PHP, Python, Ruby, MySQL Ok great, we use Java and PHP and Python but how competent are they in those languages? Today on Forrst.com I came across what I think should be the future of the resume. **** UPDATE **** The main thing I take from the resume is the ability to see percentage of use across skillsets. A rough xml sketch could be Here is a link to the full resume image:
5 Tips for Creating the Perfect Profile Pic No matter how much quality information or witty repartee we send out into our social networks, first impressions are almost always visual. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that the first thing we see when checking out a new Twitter follower, Facebook friend, or LinkedIn connection is a profile photo. And in a world of quick clicks and divergent attention, if the photo you present isn't eye-catching, or illustrative of your personal brand, you may miss your shot at making a positive first impression. We asked social design experts for their take on what makes for a killer profile pic, and they've provided some strategies on implementing your personal brand, and a few tools for snazzing up that boring Facebook self-shot you've been clinging to. 1. This may seem obvious, but we've all come across countless social profiles with blurry, dark, or low-res images. 2. A rule of thumb touched on by many is consistency. "Don't change it every few days. 3. 4. 5.
If your reference says this, you'll get a job (MoneyWatch) Most experienced, savvy job seekers will ask references for permission before using them. This check-in might be in the form of a quick phone call, in person or by email -- whatever is most convenient for that person. Ideally, this heads up prevents you from naming someone who doesn't have the time to act as a reference or worse, doesn't like you or remember you. If you reach out early, you'll have time to brief them. "This job fits him because of X" You don't just want the reference to recommend you; you want him or her to recommend you for this job. "She is wonderful because of X, Y and Z" Your reference is essentially telling the story of you as an employee, and the best stories have powerful, demonstrative details. "I worked side by side with him" You should never use a reference who you worked with very briefly or in an indirect way, even if they are very senior or notable industry players. "I'm so glad you called" Job-seekers: Has a reference ever cost you a job?
Sheryl Sandberg's Full HBS Speech: Get On A Rocketship Whenever You Get The Chance How to Write a Résumé That Doesn't Annoy People - David Silverman by David Silverman | 11:34 AM June 5, 2009 A Google search for “résumé” results in over 178,000,000 hits, whereas “possum” nets only 5,340,000. Thus the documentation of work experience is 33 and 1/3 more popular than arboreal marsupials. But what does this really tell us? “Administered resolution of issues and implementation of ideas surfaced by individuals.” Huh? We all know that there are more jobs being lost than created, and that an opening will get dozens, if not hundreds, of applicants. I’m not immune. Other people have their own peccadilloes. 1. 2. 4. 5. 6. 9. What do you think? This content was adapted for inclusion in the HBR Guide to Getting a Job.
Top 10 tips on how to create a successful CV When it comes to applying for a new job, your CV could be just the ticket to get you that initial foot in the door and secure an interview. But how do you ensure your CV is added to the ‘interview pile’ rather than straight to the bin? Putting together a successful CV is easy once you know how. 1. There is no right or wrong way to create a CV but there are some common sections that you should cover. 2. A successful CV is always carefully and clearly presented, and printed on clean, crisp white paper. 3. A good CV is clear, concise and makes every point necessary without waffling. 4. The clues are in the job application, so read the details cover to cover. 5. When you’ve established what the job entails and how you can adhere to each requirement, create a CV specifically for that role. 6. Under the skills section of your CV, don’t forget to mention key skills that can help you to stand out from the crowd. 7. 8. 9.
Clayton Christensen On How To Find Work That You Love Back in 1976, two economists, Michael Jensen and William Meckling, published a paper looking at why managers don’t always behave in a way that is in the best interest of shareholders. The root cause, as Jensen and Meckling saw it, is that people work in accordance with how you pay them. Many managers have come to believe this, too: you just need to pay people to do what you want them to do, when you want them to do it. The problem with thinking about incentives in this way is that there are powerful anomalies that it cannot explain. For example: some of the hardest working people on the planet are employed in charitable organizations. They work in the most difficult conditions imaginable; they earn a fraction of what they would if they were in the private sector. So how do we explain what is motivating them--if it’s not money? Well, there is a second school of thought, which turns this thinking about incentives on its head. The Balance of Motivators and Hygiene Factors Clayton M.
The Best Path to Success is Your Own - Gianpiero Petriglieri by Gianpiero Petriglieri | 9:00 AM May 11, 2012 If you’re wondering what to do next in your career, you’re hardly alone. The debate about where and how we may best feed our hunger for mastery, service, prestige, approval, safety, achievement — whatever we’re after — is fiercer than ever. Do you go after, or hold on to, a corporate job or strike out on your own? Daniel Gulati and Lucy Kellaway recently offered contrasting views. That is a crazy thought, rebutted Kellaway from her column in the Financial Times, where she has worked for a quarter of a century. The two perspectives make for an informative debate on the changing sources of prestige, and on the best strategy for the ambitious to gain recognition in this day and age — be it from employers, local and virtual communities, or inner critics. Take these two New York Times essays, arguing that young Americans are too complacent to hit the road to find work, and have the passionless and eager-to-please attitude of salespeople.